Carton loading mechanism



July 13, 1965 A. E. wHiTEcAR CARTON LOADING' MECHANISM Filed Oct. 8, 1962 BYWMUM ATTORN EYS United States Patent O 3,193,981 CARTGN LGADENG MECHANSM Alten E. Whitecar, Westville, NJ., assignor to Smith Kline & French Laboratories, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 228,925 3 Claims. (Cl. 53-65) This invention pertains generally to mechanism for the loading of cartons, and particularly to means associated with such loading mechanism to assure the actual loading of such cartons. The invention is particularly useful in connection with the rapid loading of cartons of small size, since in such instances the difference in weight between a loaded and an unloaded carton is often so small as not to be readily detected either manually or by other than the most sensitive weight responsive mechanism. It is, however, broadly applicable to the loading of cartons of any size with objects of any weight, thus avoiding manual or other time consuming inspection.

These and other features of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art as the specification proceeds in connection with the drawing in which:

The single gure is a perspective view, shown broken, of a known type of carton loading mechanism with the invention shown in combination therewith.

Referring now more particularly to'the drawing, at is shown a conventional carton loading mechanism to which the invention is applied. Said mechanism is illustrated as having chains 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. These chains have their ends connected together so as to be `endless to form an endless conveyor construction, the top of which is caused to move to the left as seen in the drawing, eg., by virtue of being actuated by sprockets of the same size (not shown) mounted on a single driven shaft (also not shown). Thus these chains rotate together in the same direction and at the same speed, much lthe same as endless belts, appropriate supports being provided at the points of turn. On chain 12 are mounted a plurality of spaced article orientation units 16, each so shaped as to form a receptacle 18 for an article to be packaged, the top and sides of said receptacle 18 but not its bottom being broken in continuity due to late-ral slit 19 intermediate the ends of each unit 16, all slits 19 of vsaid units 16 being in alignment. As will be seen hereinafter, the provision of slits 19 is a part of the invention.

Mounted on chain 13, and in line with units 16 are a plurality of spaced guide members 21 arranged to slide on spaced rails 22 and 23. As will be seen hereinafter, members 21 serve for holding the feeding ends of the cartons open and for guiding the articles into the cartons.

Also, guide members 21 may be considered as continuations of receptacles 18, each alignment of a unit 16 and a member 21 being regarded as a single receptacle or transverse channel.

Members 24 are attached to chain 14 and have upright lugs 25 which form a plurality of carton receiving spaces 26, each such space 26 being lined up with a separate guide member 21 and its associated receptacle 18.

Positioned alongside and longitudinally of chain 15 is a stationary bar 27 on which end liaps 31 on the outer ends of cartons 32 slide, the remaining flaps on the outer ends of cartons 32 customarily being in closed position.

Positioned directly above the outer ends of guide members 21 is a stationary ilat strip 33 on which end ilaps 34 on the inner ends of cartons 32 slide, the two flaps 35 at right agles to each ilap 34 being held in open position by overlapping the sides of the associated guide member 21.

In the operation of a conventional and well-known carton loading mechanism thus far particularly described, the articles 36 to be packaged which may be of any character, eg., ampoules which are generally relatively small,

Patented July 13, 1965 ICC are fed into receptacles 18 either manually, but generally automatically by well-known means which, for the sake of brevity, are not shown. Likewise, cartons 32 are fed into carton receiving spaces 26, each with its flaps eventually positioned with respect to bar Z7, strip 33, and its associated guide member 21 in the manner already described. Such latter feeding also may be done manually, but is generally accomplished automatically by wellknown means, which also for the sake of brevity, are not shown.

The next step is to slide each such article 36 out of its respective receptacle 18 and through the associated guide member 21 into the carton 32 aligned therewith. This also may be done manually by an operator standing alongside of the moving mechanism, a inger serving well for eventually tucking the article fully into its respective carton 32 from underneath strip 33 and out of the end of the associated guide member 21. In large scale packaging, however, this operation is usually performed automatically by well-known means which also, for the sake of brevity, are not shown in detail, but merely in part illustrated as being comprised of a plurality of pusher arms 37 associated with chain 11, said pusher arms 37 being arranged to travel in unison with receptacles 18 and guide members 21, each pusher arm by cam actuation progressively moving inwardly as the mechanism moves to the left as seen in the drawing, as is well understood by persons skilled in the art.

Bar 27 against which the outer end of each carton 32 abuts serves as a stop to prevent each article 36 from projecting beyond the outer end of its carton 32.

Each carton 32 as it is filled, progresses to the left as seen in the drawing, and may be removed from the travelling mechanism either manually or automatically, such as after having its ends closed by well-known mechanisms, not shown.

Coming now to the invention, a serious drawback in mechanisms of the kind described, and irrespective of whether the articles are advanced into the cartons manually or automatically, is that on occasion there is a failure to deposit an article 36 in each receptacle 18, whereupon in each such instance a carton remains empty. Due to the rapidity of operation of the loading mechanism, it is very diicult for an operator to spot and mark such cartons for reject purposes. The problem becomes even more serious when the loading is made entirely automatic. The result is that empty cartons may iind their way into shipments of filled cartons which can become a very serious matter, particularly in the field of pharmaceuticals, as can be well understood.

To guard against such contingency, the invention is directed to the automatic destruction of any carton that remains unfilled, so that such carton may be readily identified and rejected.

To this end, a sensing mechanism 41 is provided which in turn operates a carton mutilation mechanism 42 in the event that any receptacle 18 fails to receive the article to be packaged, the carton destroyed being that which would have been lled had the particular receptacle 18 received the article.

Sensing mechanism 41 has a shoe 43 provided with an upwardly curved forward nose 44, said shoe being positioned in line with space 19 and dimensioned so as to be capable of moving downwardly therein. As shown, shoe 43 is attached to bar 45 which in turn is pivotally mounted at 46 on stationary plate 47. Plate 47 carries an electrical switch 48 having an actuating element 49 extending downwardly in contact with bar 45, as shown at a point offset somewhat from pivot 46.

Switch 48 is in a circuit which includes solenoid 51 of carton destruction mechanism 42, said solenoid being mounted on stationary bracket 52, and said circuit being t v Y. 3,193,981V

Venergized from any suitable electrical source, not shown.

rmature 53 of solenoidl V5l. Yis pivotally-attached to lever 54V by a pinV 55, lever 54 in turn being pivotally mounted on bracket Y56 as indicated at 57, bracket 56 beriss for carton 'mutilationjpurfposes VshouldntY develop that Y ing'shownV as` secured to the'case'of solenoid 51. 'Y f The non=pivotedfree end of lever Sii-carries `a 'knife such carton will 1notbeY lledf withy an ar'ticle because of the absence Vof such`articleV in the receptaclef-ljfrom whichv the carton isv to be lled, such mutilation taking" place automatically aswill now befparticularly described.'

- It is tobe'understoodthat whenshoe 43 is in the position shown in the drawingthat is, when held up by one or for a short instant more than one article 36 in recep- Y tacl'es 1S, 'switc'hfii is open andY the-circuitfthrough sole-Y noid Slis unenergized. YUnder vsuchcircumstances, ar-

mature 53 is 'retracted upwardly by virtue 'of a conventional inner construction of solenoid V51 that is'r spring biased upwardly, said solenoid being Vso selected, an'dlever 'l 54, as la consequenceis in its upwardY position to hold knife 58 upwardly to clear the cartons 32 passing ,thereunder.V 'i 7' 'Y As shownin the drawing,V article'd is about to 'pass out fromunder shoe 43, whereupon if it were'not-for the 25 fact that article 32619 is already,`or is about to be, engaged by forward nose 44 of shoe .43, that -is vif the receptacle 18 containing article db'wereempty', shoe 43 would drop uponY becoming free ofarticle v36a to close switch d8;

the art that switch 4S and solenoid 5l, may be chosen Vto operate in an opposite manner from that particularly described in that switch 4S may be of the typeV to close upon t the upward Vmovement'of shoe 43, and solenoid 51 of the type to retract its armatureY upward when energized by'. the closing of switch i8 to bring knife 58 Yup out of the path fof cartons 32,* `With'such arrangement,"switch 48 would open uponthe downwardV movement of shoe'43 to deenergize solenoid 5l, whereupon lever 54 wouldrdro .to bring knife S8 Vintothe path of cartons 3,2.

' It will also be' understood by Vpersons skilled in the art Y that theY switchY and solenoid combination may be substit-utedl by any l,other lcombination fof `control and Vmotor l mechanismknownV in-therart, suchV asA those operating by means ofz auid,e.g., yair, instead of electrical energy; e.g.', a piston `and cylinder'fmay kbe vsubstituted for solenoid 5l and a valve for switch 4S, the operationof which Y 'combinationin itsV multitude .of applications being so well of shoe 43 may be adaptedV for upand down movement The closingrof switch 48 would energize solenoid 5lV cause ing its armature 53 to descend to depress Vlever 54,;thereby causing knife 58 to cut into and mutilate orgdestroy carton 32b,rthis being the carton lined upwith and to be j lled by article Sb. Knife 58 may be positioned Vtoc'ut into Vthe top of carton B2b, or descend'just in advance ofy carton 32;!1, in either case, due to the movement of the carton tothe left relative to the knife, a cutting action dueV Vto such movement, by itself, will occur, J

In any event, knifeV 58 rernainsdepressed` until such Y.

aboveY such 'receptacles Ffor Vup and down movement of knife/5S in the manner described, as can be readily seen. V*Ithardly need .be mentioned that'articles 36 are of at lea'st s uiiicientirigidity for shoe43 topass thereover in Y 4elevated positioninthe`manner-described.-' Y

time that article' 36e, the next in vseries reaches forward nose 454' of shoe 43 to raise shoe Ai3k therebybreaking theY circuit through solenoid 5l, whereuponknife 58is raised free of cartonSZc, toavoid'cutting the latter carton, that 1 is, all parts return to'their original positions as' shown.

Forward nose 44 of shoe 43 is, of course, of'suchflength that'knife '53 is raised in Vtime to clear fcarton 32e into which article 36C is to be inserted. Y

Having" particularly described rthe invention, it is to be understood that this is by way of Villustration "and not Vofliniitation, for changes, omissions, additiona'substitutions'an'd/ or other modifications may be Vmade Vwithout V'departing from the .spirit thereof.YY Accordingly it is intendedY that the patent shall cover, by suitable expression inthe claims, the various features of patentable` novelty residing in the invention.

- What is claimedis: l

1 '1. In combination with 'packaging mechanism having On the other hand,v should the receptacle' 18 Vshownlas holding article 36C actuallybeempty," knife SSwouldi re# main depressed to also destroy' carton'SZc as it moves i relative thereto,.as'can be readily seen. Obviously, the same .applies inthe'case of a series of empty receptacles 18.'V n ff Stationary laterally spaced" barsA 6l, between which leyer 54Vis shown positioned, are arranged longitudinally of mechanism lil, and assist in holding, cartons 32 in po- Y sition, especially during any destruction thereof'by knife Y 58. Bars 6l may also 'serve as a guide for lever 54 forV stabilityV purposes to avoid possible excessive Vsidewise movement. Although bars lrnay touclrlthe tops of car#v tons 32, a clearance, e.g.aslightV clearance, alsois con-` templateh.A 'Y Y A Y K x It will be appreciated thatishoe'43 need not necessarily descend the full ydistance in space or slit 19` to operate Vswitch 48, butrjust suiciently k to sense the absenceV of an Y Nor article 36, depending .upon'the latters diameter. need slit 119Y extend downwardly in a unit 16 the fully distance of its side walls, but only suciently to permitoperation ofthe sensingrmechanismf With this in mind an Y adjustable stop is provided ato?. for shoe 43,'thisV being shownas comprising screwv 63 threadedlyengaging'sta-r tionary bracket 64, the'end, ofY screw fbeingpositioned in the path of barV 45 toV adjustably limit its downward Ymovement depending uponrthe requirements offshoe 43' for sensing purposes.

A It willof course', be understood personsvskill'edr.

Yconveyormeans 1 having receptacles for receiving and gidingarticles-tobe placed in cartons, and members for receiving cartons aligned with said receptacles, the imfprovement comprising means for sensing the absence of 'an' article in any receptacle, and meansV operatively con- VVnectedY to saidfsensinig'means for the'rnutilation' of cartonsl aligned with empty1re, 'epta :les,` said sensing means comprisinga'sensingjmember mounted Yfor downward and upward movement in response to the absenceV and presence respectively of articles inthe receptaclesand anielectrical .Y switch, saidmovement operating said switch, and the means forthe mutilation of cartons comprising a solenoid electrically'connectedto said switch for operationthereby, aV knife and meansfor connecting said knife to said 'solenoid fori the'downward and upward movement of i VsaidV knife in androut respectively of the path'V of the cartons. A Y

2. The'k combination" of` claim' 1 wherein V.said knife is aligned transversely of 'said sensing member and said switch and said solenoid" causes said knife to move downward and upward'i'n unison with said sensing member. 3s. The V'combination' Vwithmechanisrn 'for the continuous 'packaging of articles in cartons, VVsaid vmechanism comprisingl a conveyor provided with a series of longitudif nally spaced transvers'echannelsfor 'receiving Yand'guiding articles'Y to bet'packa'ged, Vmeans at fthe Voutlet Y ends of said channels for maintaining cartons inalignment'therewith,

said last-,mentionedY meansA including means for holding theinlet ends of said cartons open,"rn'eans atthe'receivrngends of said `vcvzhannels forrsensin'g theabsence of an articleinanysaid channel, andJ means; at, the outlet ends fof said channels for the vmutilation of .the carton aligned with any said 1ast-mentioned channel upon operation of said sensing means, said sensing means comprising a shoe positioned longitudinally of said conveyor, a continuous longitudinal slit in said conveyor, said shoe being mounted for upward and downward movement in said slit, an electrical switch, means connecting said shoe to said switch for operation of said switch in response to movement of said shoe, said means for the mutilation of cartons comprising a solenoid, a lever positioned above said cartons, means for connecting said lever to said solenoid for upward and downward movement or" said lever upon operation of said solenoid, a knife on said lever, =said knife being positioned in transverse alignment with said shoe, and means for electrically connecting said References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,432,355 10/22 Orstrom 53-65 2,625,392 1/53 Morrison 53-65 2,934,869 5/60 Engelson et al. 53-57 FRANK E. BAILEY, Primary Examiner.

TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH PACKAGING MECHANISM HAVING CONVEYOR MEANS HAVING RECEPTACLES FOR RECEIVING AND GUIDING ARTICLES TO BE PLACED IN CARTONS, AND MEMBERS FOR RECEIVING CARTONS ALIGNED WITH SAID RECEPTACLES, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING MEANS FOR SENSING THE ABSENCE OF AN ARTICLE IN ANY RECEPTACLE, AND MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID SENSING MEANS FOR THE MULTILATION OF CARTONS ALIGNED WITH EMPTY RECEPTACLES, SAID SENSING MEANS COMPRISING A SENSING MEMBER MOUNTED FOR DOWNWARD AND UPWARD MOVEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE ABSENCE AND PRESENCE RESPECTIVELY OF ARTICLES IN THE RECEPTACLES AND AN ELECTRICAL SWITCH, SAID MOVEMENT OPERATING SAID SWITCH, AND THE 